20070612

Drought may threaten Jack Daniel's water supply

PHOTO BY WILLIAM M. DOWD
(Double-click to enlarge image)




The main distillery at the Jack Daniel's Distillery.

The last time I stood next to Cave Spring, the gurgling water supply for the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg, TN, was running strong.

The coolness coming off the water and the wetness of the rock outcropping were refreshing on what was an unseasonably warm day.

That was in February. Today, the ongoing Tennessee drought may, in the views of some, be threatening the distillery's sole water supply.

Jerry Hamilton, plant manager, is quoted in the Louisville (NY) Courier-Journal as saying the issue is threatening whiskey production since Cave Spring has been supplying all the water for the facility for more than a century. Company officials have always credited the iron-free spring for the unique taste of the Tennessee sipping whiskey, the world's largest-selling distillation.

"The water flow is down substantially," Hamilton said. "I would say at least a third to a half of what we normally see. ... If we can’t use what it takes to make Jack Daniel’s, I suspect we won’t make Jack Daniel’s until we get all the ingredients we need.”

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3 comments:

BostonMaggie said...

My father is terribly upset about this. Do you have updates?

William M. Dowd said...

Maggie:

Tell your dad to relax. All apparently is well. See the July 18 update elsewhere in this notebook.

Anonymous said...

Thank you!

I am printing this to give to my father.